Archive for March, 2008

A couple of months ago a family in our church experienced a death that could be described as before his time. The funeral was a celebration of life and hope like few that I’ve attended. I was recalling a conversation I had with them just prior to the death. In light of Easter it makes even more sense.

As we talked the couple was relating stories of happenings that they considered to be more that coincidence. If you didn’t know all that was going on and heard their interpretation you would think these people were being “overly religious.” One incident about a dog led them to believe God was up to something. Another circumstance at school pointed them again to bigger, spiritual plans. It seemed that with a sense of the nearness of death everything they encountered and considered had a new point of view, a spiritual one.

As Easter nears can you imagine Jesus’ heightened sense of purpose! He always knew he would die but as he entered Jerusalem for the last time, ate the Passover, cleansed the temple…wow.

We are reminded over and over that we are “dead”, “crucified with Christ,” “consider yourself dead,” to “lose your life” and experience ”new life.” If we were more aware of our death would we be more spiritual minded? Everything is spiritual we just miss it as we live a short-sighted life. Oh that I/we would embrace our death so that the spiritual would influence us every moment.

The other day I was talking with one of my children about praying a scripture and I asked what scriptures were memorized. Without hesitation, “For God so loved the world that he gave His only forgotten son…”

Probably has happened before but it really made me think…what do we really have committed to memory from Scripture?